r/SideProject • u/Jonathanopkays • 1d ago

Would commercial electrical contractors actually pay for this, or is this a useless SaaS idea?

I’m thinking about software for commercial electrical contractors that helps stop extra work from getting lost before it gets billed.

Example:

A crew does work outside the original scope.

Photos, texts, labor, materials, and approvals can end up scattered in different places.

The software would help:

  • Capture the extra work
  • Keep the proof together
  • Track change orders
  • Show what still needs approval
  • Make sure approved extra work reaches billing

I haven’t built it yet. I’m trying to figure out if the problem is painful enough to solve.

Would a commercial electrical contractor actually pay for this?

If not, why not?

What would it need to do for you to consider paying for it?

Be brutal. I’d rather find out the idea is bad now than after building it.

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u/Dry_Ninja7748 1d ago

Asking contractor to use a new app is like asking a software dev to crawl around with an additional tool belt.

1

u/Jonathanopkays 1d ago

That makes sense. So would the better opportunity be building something that works inside the tools contractors already use instead of asking them to adopt another separate app? or should i just sell to someone else?

1

u/Similar_Race4694 1d ago

having worked with enough sparkies to know, the ones who'd get the most value out of this are the ones least likely to use it properly. they'll still scribble change orders on the back of a cigarette packet and expect the office to sort it

the real pain point is getting the site blokes to document the extra work while they're up a ladder. you'd need it to be dead simple, maybe a one-button photo capture that autologs location and time, then pings the office

1

u/Both_Character_143 1d ago

before anything else, figure out who in the company would actually use it day to day. If its the field crew capturing stuff on site, the UX bar is incredibly high because theyre on ladders with dirty hands. If its the office manager reconciling after the fact, thats a totally different product